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Pretty In Pink....Elle's Dresser

A few weeks ago I bought a dresser on one of my favorite tag sale sites on Facebook. I loved this dresser because it had the lines, long curvy legs and details I always look for in a great piece of furniture. At the time I didn't know what I would do to the dresser, but I knew I had to have it. The same weekend I picked this dresser up a friend of mine came by to drop off a piece of furniture for me to work on for her mother (Biggest Challenge Yet). While she was here she was talking about how she needed a dresser for her Daughter Elle's room. They're moving into a much larger house from a small townhouse so they have lots of fun decorating to do! I showed her the dresser I had just picked up and she loved it. Over the next few weeks we talked about what color she wanted to paint Elle's bedroom, the color of the bedding, etc. Elle's bedding inspired me to do another dresser the Cherry Blossom Dresser. The entire time I was painting the cherry blossom dresser I was thinking about this next dresser and was excited about the fun I could have with it!

Here's what the dresser for Elle looked like when I brought it home.

The dresser was not in the best of shape as you can see. The veneer was peeling off in parts, the top was a mess, but it still had all those fantastic details.

Even with all the dirt, peeling veneer and scratches it's a beautiful piece of furniture.

Each one of the drawers had to be glued and clamped because they were falling apart. Then the veneer had to be filled and sanded in quite a few spots.

There were a lot of places around the knobs that had to be sanded down. There was some gunky old varnish, which would have been fine to add texture, but that wasn't the look I was going for. This was going to be different.

I sanded down the scratches, nicks and gunky veneer to give it a smooth surface.

The top needed a lot of sanding because it had a ton of gouges in it.

My friend had originally wanted the dresser to be distressed so I started out painting a different color underneath so it would show up with the distressing. We had decided the body would be Annie Sloan Pure White and the drawers would be Antoinette. I was THRILLED because having a boy I never get to play with pink! This was exciting for this girlie girl.

Then as I painted my first coat of the paint I was disappointed. The stain was bleeding through. I learned something very, VERY valuable at my Annie Sloan workshop. When painting stained furniture from the 30's and 40's use a coat of Zinsser Shellac to seal up the stain and prevent bleed through. For some reason the stain used during this time always bleeds through paint. Do you know how many times I have painted something and then had this happen with the stain?? I wish I'd known this before because I put 2 coats of primer on top of the 2 coats of Annie Sloan paint before I got the bleed through to stop. Then I did another 2 coats. YEP....6 coats of paint! Funny thing is, I enjoyed every pink moment! This paint made me happy :-)

Like I mentioned before my friend had wanted to dresser distressed and I agreed that would be a great look, until I was finished painting. I knew I wanted to paint the insides of the curves on the outside of the drawers in Pure White to pop off the Antoinette. Once I was done doing that I couldn't bring myself to distress it. I love to distress furniture, but something told me, "DON'T DO IT!" So I listened to what I hope was my gut and not me losing my mind.

Here it is all painted and coated in clear wax. The only thing she is missing are her jewels or what some might call her drawer hardware.

I painted the legs in the Antoinette color as well, just to show them off.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how the details in the drawers pop now! It's such a pretty and feminine dresser it makes me feel all girlie inside.

Today we had a break in our monsoon type weather and I was able to take her outside, put on her jewels and give her a nice photo shoot. She's absolutely breathtaking don't you think??

The whole time I was painting this dresser I knew I wanted to stage it in a Parisian theme. Today I had to stop at Home Goods to pick something up and just happened to stop in at the lighting section. This is a bad thing for me because I have a bad lamp addiction. I found this Eiffel Tower lamp and had to have it (sorry honey!). It's Perfect for this dresser and my new Make Up Table!

This dresser is made for a Princess and I think my Elle is a very lucky little Princess!

The drawer hardware is just what this dresser needs and really compliments the Antoinette pink.

Maybe it was the fact the name of the paint is so French, but last week I found this scented liner paper at Home Goods and knew it would be the perfect French finishing touch.

I can't get enough of those legs or the casters!

Every moment of redoing this dresser was fun for me. Knowing there's a sweet little girl that's going to enjoy having this in her room made it even more special. This is definitely a dresser made for a Princess. I hope Elle loves it as much as I do. I really hope there's more painting with pink in my future!

Let me know what you think. I love all your comments and I do take the time to respond to each one.

oh my word...this is just beautiful!!!!! i really only want to buy furniture from yard sales and thrift stores now... they have much more character and you do gorgeous work!!! love how the pink pops against the white! great job!

So pretty! I like the white detailing amid the pink. I'm really getting inspired by these furniture makeovers. I'm getting ready to furnish a new house and I'd much rather redo old, wood furniture than buy new, cheaply made stuff!

so cute! i love all of your work! 2 questions... what is a tag sale on facebook? and i have a dresser that has dovetailed drawers and they are in kinda rough shape, what glue/filler did you use to fix them? Thanks for any help!

I just found your blog and I'm in love! I'm new to ASCP and painting furniture; I really appreicate how you break down each part of the process. I have a dresser waiting to be painted for my daughter (she's moving into her big girl room) and your Ellie dresser is exactly what I had dreaming up in my mind. I already have pure white and antoinette is going to be my next purchase. Thank you for painting the dresser and sharing it with us =)

i noticed in one of your pictures that you had a can of "another" wax. do you use that instead of annie sloans? i went to home depot to see if i could find some that was less expensive. all i saw was minwax and the man at the paint counter said i should wait 3-4 after painting to put the wax on. we all know that's not going to happen.

I always use Annie Sloan waxes. That was sitting there because I was trying it again on another project. It's called Briwax. I know there are some bloggers and DIYers that love it, but I do not. It smells, has more flammable chemicals and in my opinion doesn't go on as well as the AS waxes do. I know everyone talks about the cost, but really the paint goes a very, very long way as does the wax. I tried the Minwax on a project one time and it was sooooo smelly! If you're using chalk paint you don't have to wait any time at all to wax, just make sure it's dry.

I really love it and the white detail on the drawers is gorgeous. I already knew who you were before your big feature on MMS but congrats!!! This dresser is so sweet and pretty. You did a great job!Helen

holy cow. talk about hard work. love this so much! i'd love for you to come link this post or anything else you want up to my weekend link party http://www.lovenotesbylauryn.blogspot.com/2012/06/spread-love-link-party-14.html have a great weekend!{love} lauryn @ lovenotesbylauryn.blogspot.com

Hi Melody, I just found you from The Shabby Nest linky - nice to meet you! LOVE the dresser! Can I feature it on my blog? Please email me a quick "ok" and then I'll let you know when it's up. PlayfulDecor (at) gmail (dot) com. I'm off to look around more....! Talk soon, Nanwww.PlayfulDecor.blogspot.com

That dresser is stunning. I love the light colors you used and the how the two compliment each other. The legs on the dresser as well as the casters are so sweet. I also adore the hardware you chose. Excellent choice. I think you did a fabulous job!I love your work - following you now. Seems you are pretty hot on the blogging scene right now! And thanks for linking up this week!Stacey of Embracing Change

This is exactly how I want my daughter's dresser to turn out -- please let me know which type of primer and paint you used? This is my first project like this and so far I have sanded it... but wasn't sure to use a spray paint or regular paint.

I have learned a lot since this dresser. I used Kilz, but it didn't work. The stain kept coming through the paint. I know use Zinsser shellac instead. I used Annie Sloan Antoinette for the paint and Pure White (same brand). Let me know if you have any further questions. Best way to get in touch with me is via email mypassionfordecor@gmail.com

Hi, just found your site and I love it. I have to ask you about your Facebook tag sale site. Can you tell me what it is called and how I can find it? Love your work and I have signed up to receive your emails and I have joined your site as well. Looking forward to see more of your work. Please send me the info on the tag sale site that you buy from.Thank youBest regardsDebbiedaubin56@yahoo.com

I know this post is several years old now, but I have 2 similar pieces of furniture that I had picked the same colors for! I was nervous about how it would turn out until I saw your pictures!! Love it! My 1 question is, how did you paint so perfectly in the detail lines with the opposite color?!

I'm a stay at home Mom and married to the best Husband around. I blog about my addiction to anything vintage and incorporating these vintage items into my home. I take the old and give it a new lease on life. What some might consider a piece of furniture ready for the trash heap, I see an ugly duckling that can be transformed into a beautiful swan. I'm a lover of estate sales, yard sales, thrift stores and flea markets. I have a deep love of globes and maps, which is apparent when you walk into my home! I hope you'll come along with me on this vintage inspired journey.